For a variety of reasons Saturday's Aviva Premiership grand final needs to live up to its billing. Last weekend's display of pyrotechnics on the same ground by Leinster will take some eclipsing and the ongoing row over Championship promotion has cast an ugly shadow. Premiership Rugby wants a dull, stale finale almost as much as eBay needs more second-hand Olympic torches.

Harlequins and Leicester, happily, seem to bring out the best in each other. The regular-season game between the two clubs last month was a minor classic, the Tigers winning 43‑33. Richard Cockerill, Leicester's director of rugby, reckons that fixture will have no bearing on the final but Quins will treat it as a reminder that Leicester's defence is not impregnable. While the London club may never have won an English title, they long since shed any sense of inferiority.

They will also look at the Tigers' playmaker with interest. The teenaged George Ford demonstrated in the semi-final that he is a young player of considerable potential but it is asking a lot to anticipate the same match-winning poise exhibited by Owen Farrell for Saracens in last year's final.

Leicester are also missing Tom Croft, a major lineout option and ball-carrying menace. Steve Mafi has been outstanding but it could be argued Quins have as much snap and crackle in the back row and at half-back as their opponents currently do.

That places a hefty responsibility on Leicester's front five to secure the dominant platform which will frustrate Quins's all-court off-loading game. Such a scenario is not the certainty it might once have been. Joe Marler is improving by the week and his all-English battle of scrummaging wits with Dan Cole will go a long way towards determining the outcome, particularly if James Johnston brings his considerable presence to bear on the tighthead side.

The sold-out occasion will also require Quins to display more backline fluency than they managed against Northampton in a taut semi-final but they showed no nerves in Toulouse this year, nor in their big wins last season over Munster and Stade Français in the Amlin Challenge Cup final.

"I think we've got more strings to our bow than we had 12 months ago," says Conor O'Shea, their director of rugby. "Our scrum can be a dominant factor, as opposed to a survival factor, and our lineout and maul has become a weapon."

They also handle the ball better than most, precisely the quality which has set Leinster apart lately. "The longer we try and play a certain way the more comfortable the players are and the better decisions they'll make," says O'Shea. "It's easier to rein yourself in than expand the canvas. We all know the way we want to play is with tempo and I think we can ask more questions of teams that way."Ever since they started staging stand-up comedy nights to encourage players to produce under pressure, and linked up with Ashridge Business School to foster a culture of self-improvement, furthermore, Quins have been waiting for a day like this to showcase their growing mental strength.

Having already beaten Saracens in front of a huge crowd at Wembley, big-stadium shyness does not seem a problem and they also have several individuals on a sharply rising career curve.

It would be no surprise if Marler, the fit-again Danny Care and Mike Brown all feature prominently on England's upcoming tour of South Africa, with 18 tourists involved at Twickenham in total. O'Shea, along with his crafty assistants John Kingston, Tony Diprose and Colin Osborne, has been claiming all season that people give Quins insufficient credit. "When Leicester and Saracens win it's: 'Oh, they really know how to grind out wins.' When you are us it's: 'Oh, they're lucky.' We'll use that."

They also have Chris Robshaw, a leader enjoying the time of his life. Quins are a side on the up; if their youthful team do not win the title this year, you suspect they will soon. Then again, how can anyone confidently bet against a Leicester win based on their superior physicality out wide and warrior instincts in cup finals? It could and should be the edge-of-the-seat thriller Premiership rugby officials are praying for.